Elastic fabric material for home use and method of employing same in the reconstruction and construction of garments

ABSTRACT

A fabric material for use as an elastic waistband for garments and primarily for the home repair of garments. The material consists of factory-prepared lengths of narrow fabrics having stretchable elastic bands, of less width than the fabric, secured adjacent a margin of the fabric by lines of stitches of a character to preserve the stretch characteristics of the band. In the method of employing the material, as in the repairing of a garment having a defective waistband, the original waistband is severed from the remainder of the garment and a free margin of the length of material is sewn to the margin of the remainder of the garment defined by the severed edge. This requires only the stitching of cloth to cloth thus avoiding the sewing of an elastic band to cloth, an operation which the usual home sewing machine is not equipped to perform. The fabric material may also be employed in the home construction of new garments and may be supplied with, or without, other materials in the form of a kit.

United States Patent 11 1 Gauthier 14 1 May 15, 1973 [54] ELASTIC FABRIC MATERIAL FOR HOME USE AND METHOD OF EMPLOYING SAME IN THE RECONSTRUCTION AND- CONSTRUCTION OF GARMENTS [76] Inventor: Mary T4. oafiiiififf Si Ninth Street, Reading, Pa. 19602 22 Filed: Junel7, 1971 21 Appl. No.: 154,077

[52] U.S. Cl. ..2/221 3,414,907 12/1968 Flame ..2/243 R X Primary Examiner-Alfred R. Guest Ario'rii'ey Andiew Rflilein et "a1.

[57] XliSiRAET A fabric material for use as an elastic waistband for garments and primarily for the home repair of garments. The material consists of factory-prepared lengths of narrow fabrics having stretchable elastic bands, of less width than the fabric, secured adjacent a margin of the fabric by lines of stitches of a character to preserve the stretch characteristics of the band. In the method of employing the material, as in the repairing of a garment having a defective waistband, the original waistband is severed from the remainder of the garment and a free margin of the length of material is sewn to the margin of the remainder of the garment defined by the severed edge. This requires only the stitching of cloth to cloth thus avoiding the sewing of an elastic band to cloth, an operation which the usual home sewing machine is not equipped to perform. The fabric material may also be employed in the home construction of new garments and may be supplied with, or without, other materials in the form of a kit.

3 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEDHAYI 51975 3732576 48 FIG. 8

I INVENTOR llllHlllllllllIlllll!lllllllllllllllllllllllllllll I L D T H l E R BY 'f i ww ATTORNEYS 1 l ELASTIC FABRIC MATERIAL FOR I-IOME iUSE AND METHOD OF EMPLOYING SAME IN THE RECONSTRUCTION AND CONSTRUCTION'OF GARMENTS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventional types of garments for men, women and children, particularly nether garments such as slips, panties, undershorts and the like, are provided with elastic waistbands, such waistbands being composed of strips of stretchable elastic materials incorporating longitudinally extending strands of natural or synthetic rubber or the like, the bands being sewn to the upper edges or margins of the garments. Inasmuch as the stretch characteristics of the elastic band must not be impaired by the fabric of the garment, the factories in which such garments are fabricated are equipped with special sewing machines adapted to tension and hence stretch the elastic band during the sewing operation. As a result, upon the release of the tension, the elastic band contracts and the garment fabric adjacent thereto is formed into a succession of relatively fine pleats. When the band is again tensioned as upon the donning of the garment by the wearer, the pleats permit the band to stretch until they are drawn out and hence disappear.

It is often found that the elastic bands of such garments wear out, are broken, or are otherwise rendered unserviceable while the remainder of the garment retains its serviceabilility. While elastic band material in strip form is usually available, the substitution of a new band for the old creates a relatively insurmountable problem insofar as the repair of the garment in the home is concerned. Namely, the normal home sewing machine is not equipped with the mechanisms found in the specialized sewing machines, referred to above, employed in garment factories for securing the elastic band to cloth. Consequently, any attempt to repair the garment is ordinarily abandoned and the garment discarded. For similar reasons, the construction of new garments, requiring such elastic bands, is usually not attempted when only conventional home sewing equipment is available.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION A principal object of the instant invention is the provision of a factory-prepared fabric material incorporating an elastic band for sale to the home user, which material will overcome the problems previously inherent in any attempt in the home to replace unserviceable elastic bands with new bands or fabricate new garments requiring elastic waistbands or the like.

Another object of the invention is the provision of fabric materials incorporating elastic bands, as referred to above, which may be secured to a garment from which the old elastic band has been severed or to a newly made garment by a sewn seam binding cloth to cloth.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a method of repairing garments particularly, but not limited to, nether garments having worn or otherwise unserviceable waistbands, said method involving the severing of the original waistband from the remainder of the garment and the replacing of such band with a length of fabric material of the kind referred to in the foregoing objects, such operation involving only the sewing of cloth to cloth.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a home sewing kit including fabric materials incorporating elastic bands as referred to above and also including other garment parts.

Additional objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the instant invention, fabric materials for use as the waistband of garments particularly, but not limited to, nether garments are factory constructed to each include a length of narrow fabric of a suitable type to which is sewn an elastic band of less width than the width of the narrow fabric material, the elastic band being secured adjacent one margin of the fabric material leaving the other margin free of the band. The securing of the elastic band to the length of material is performed by a sewing operation utilizing specialized machines available in clothing factories, as previously referred to, whereby the portion of the narrow fabric material which laps the elastic band, and the fabric material adjacent thereto is formed into a succession of fine pleats when the elastic band is in its relaxed state permitting the band to again be stretched when desired.

The fabric material incorporating the elastic band would be sold in any requested length by suitable outlets such as the notion counters of department stores and the like, and hence will be readily available to the home user presented with the problem of repairing garments in which the original elastic waistband was no longer capable of satisfactory use.

In accordance with the instant invention, the method of repairing such garments includes severing the cloth of the garment adjacent the original elastic band and thereafter securing the material of the invention, as described above, to the remainder of the garment by seaming the cloth margin of the material to the cloth of the remaining portion of the garment.

As will be understood, a method in accordance with the instant invention would also include the employment of the fabric material as described above in the home construction of a new nether garment such as a slip, pair of panties or the like, and also the construction of outer garments such as slacks, shorts, skirts and the like. In such method, the garment is fabricated in the usual way except that the waistband is provided by employing a length of the material of the invention and securing it to the upper end of the main garment part by a line or lines of stitching in the free marginal portion of the material and the cloth of the garment proper. Suitably, the material of the invention would be sold in a kit also including auxiliary items for use in the fabrication of the garment such as cloth shapes for forming patch pockets, and trim materials such as binding, braid or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of material incorporating the instant invention and adapted to be employed as a waistband in the construction or repair of garments such as womens nether garments;

FIG. 2 is a plan view similar to FIG. I but showing material in accordance with the invention particularly adapted for use as the waistband of mens shorts, childrens clothes and the like;

, corporating a material of the type of that disclosed in FIG. 2 but including a lower border defined by a length of trim material, the garment additionally including patch pockets having their upper ends finished with the trim material;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a patch pocket element for I use in the garment of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of an alternative form of pocket element; and

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a length of trim material as employed in the construction of FIGS. 5, 6 and 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring particularly to FIGS. 1 and 3, there is disclosed a narrow fabric material 10 in accordance with the invention having an elastic band 12, incorporating longitudinally extending strands of natural or synthetic rubber or the like, secured to the fabric material adjacent an upper margin thereof by lines of stitching 14. The securing of the elastic band to the fabric is, as previously explained, performed as a factory operation employing a specialized sewing machine having the ability to stretch the fabric during the sewing operation whereby upon relaxation of the elastic band 12, the portion of the fabric 10 overlying the band is formed into a succession of fine pleats 16.

The fabric material 10 may be of any suitable character as employed in the manufacture of womens slips, panties and the like. For example, it may be a nylon netting, a permanent press fabric, or a cotton or silk fabric. Suitably, it may be patterned or embroidered as indicated at 18. As will be appreciated, the number of types of fabric which can be used is relatively unlimited but, for practical purposes, a reasonable number can be selected for commercial exploitation, the construction and appearance of which would be compatible with those fabrics normally used in the construction of nether garments of the type referred to. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the elastic band material is of less width than the narrow fabric strip to leave a free marginal portion 20 of'the fabric, such marginal portion suitably being of a width of from 1 inch to 4 or more inches.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 4, a womans nether garment such as a slip is shown at 22 with the narrow fabric material 10 attached thereto. In the preparation of the garment and in the event it is a repaired garment, the original waistband is first severed from the garment, preferably through the use of pinking shears to provide the serrated upper edge as indicated at 24 on the remaining skirt portion 26. Fabric material 10 In the construction of a new garment employing the fabric material 10 of FIG. 1 or materials of a similar type, the skirt portion 26 without a waistband is joined to the fabric material similarly as in the repair of a damaged garment as described above.

Referring particularly to FIG. 2, one of the many variations of the fabric material incorporating an elastic band, and which may be employed in the repair or construction of garments, is illustrated, the fabric of FIG. 2 being particularly adapted for use in the construction or repair of men 's or childrens undershorts or the like. The construction is the same as that of FIG. 1 except that suitably the elastic band 32 is of greater width than the band 12 and the fabric 34 is a plain fabric of cotton, nylon, linen or the like. As in the case of the material 10, the fabric material 34 is of substantially greater ,width than the elastic band, the latter being secured as by lines of stitching 36 adjacent the upper edge of the fabric material leaving a lower free margin 37 which may suitably be of from 1 to 4 inches in width as in the case of the marginal portion 20. The sewing of the elastic band to the fabric material follows the procedure previously explained. Namely, it is performed in the factory by a sewingmachine having the ability to stitch the elastic band to the fabric while simultaneously forming a succession of narrow pleats in the fabric whereby, following the sewing operation, the elastic band may be stretched or elongated.

Also, as in the case of the fabric material of FIG. 1, the material 34 with the elastic band 32 factoryattached may be employed in the repair of garments having defective waistbands or in the formation of new garments. In either event, the free marginal portion 37 of the material is lapped over a free marginal portion of the garment to which the fabric is to be attached and the two are sewn together, the operation again only requiring the sewing of cloth to cloth.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 5 to 8 inclusive, there is disclosed an application of the concept of the instant invention to the repair or construction of outerwear garments such as womens or childrens shorts. In

the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the fabric material indicated at 35, which is suitably of the general type of that shown in FIG. 2, has an elastic band 33 secured thereto by lines of stitching 37, the attachment of the elastic band to the fabric being performed as described above in connection with the other embodiments by a special sewing machine whereby the fabric which laps the elastic band has a succession of fine pleats 38.-As illustrated in FIG. 5, and as opposed to thefabi'ic material of FIG. 2, the free margin of the fabric material 35 may consist of a decorative trimming 40 such as a bias binding, a braided material or the like. Suitably, the trimming material 40 is secured to the remainder of the fabric material 35 by a sewing operation performed in the home, although this operation may be performed at the factory if desired.

A further feature of the invention resides in the supplying of additional garment features with the fabric material. As disclosedin FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, such additional features may be patch pockets 42 of suitable shapes, the materials for which are included with the fabric material 34 in a kit. The patch pockets are adapted to be secured to the garment proper by lines of stitching as indicated at 44 in FIG. 5. Also, the patch pockets may carry an edge trimming 46 either at the upper edge as shown in FIG. 6, or around the side and bottom edges of the pocket elements as shown in FIG. 7. The pocket trimming material 46 may be of any desired type, but suitably corresponds to the trimming material employed on the waistband as illustrated in FIG. 5. The trimming material 46 may be attached to the pocket elements at the factory, but preferably is supplied separately in lengths as indicated in FIG. 8 at 48 as a part of a garment repair or construction kit also including the waistband material and patch pocket elements.

It will be understood that while a pair of shorts are illustrated in FIG. 5, other outer garments may be similarly constructed, such as pants, skirts and the like made of various materials.

Having thus described my invention in rather complete detail, it will be understood that these details need not be strictly adhered to and that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim:

l. A factory-prepared material for use as an elastic waistband in the repair or the construction of garments in which the waistband has been removed or omitted, said material comprising a length of narrow fabric material and a stretchable elastic band secured to the narrow fabric material by lines of stitching adjacent one edge therof to provide a free margin of said narrow fabric material opposite to said one edge, said narrow fabric material having a succession of pleats extending transversely of said lines of stitching when said elastic band is in a substantially unstretched state whereby the stretchability of said elastic band is preserved.

2. A factory-prepared material as defined in claim 1 wherein said elastic band underlies said length of narrow fabric material for the full width of the elastic band.

3. A factory-prepared fabric material as defined by claim 1 in association with other garment parts providing a kit for the construction and repair of garments. 

1. A factory-prepared material for use as an elastic waistband in the repair or the construction of garments in which the waistband has been removed or omitted, said material comprising a length of narrow fabric material and a stretchable elastic band secured to the narrow fabric material by lines of stitching adjacent one edge therof to provide a free margin of said narrow fabric material opposite to said one edge, said narrow fabric material having a succession of pleats extending transversely of said lines of stitching when said elastic band is in a substantially unstretched state whereby the stretchability of said elastic band is preserved.
 2. A factory-prepared material as defined in claim 1 wherein said elastic band underlies said length of narrow fabric material for the full width of the elastic band.
 3. A factory-prepared fabric material as defined by claim 1 in association with other garment parts providing a kit for the construction and repair of garments. 